Parental Kidnapping

Depending on exactly what your state’s law says, there might be some ways a person could commit parental kidnapping even without leaving the state.

In some states, parental kidnapping occurs only when one parent’s actions violate their custody order by interfering with the other parent’s court-ordered time with the children. If your state has a relocation law, it will say how many miles a parent can move their children from the other parent without asking the judge for permission. It’s important to keep in mind that a judge doesn’t have to grant permission just because a parent asks. S/he might not allow your child to move.

Therefore, if the other parent disagrees with the move, you might need to think about trying to negotiate with the other parent to come up with a parenting time schedule that s/he might accept rather than leaving it up to the judge to decide whether you can relocate. A family law attorney in your state should be able to help you figure out:

• what your options are; and
• how judges in your area are likely to rule if the decision is left up to them.

In other states, parental kidnapping might occur even without a custody order in effect. Laws like this tend to focus on concealment, which means hiding or keeping a child away from a parent. So, if a parent moves the children away from the other parent without telling the other parent where they are, that might be considered parental kidnapping—even within state lines. If your state has a law like this, you may want to ask a local family law attorney about your options. If you have safety concerns, you can ask whether you can keep your address confidential. You can also ask what other protections your state’s laws might offer.

If you’ve already been charged with parental kidnapping – or if you’re worried that you might be – please reach out to a criminal attorney in your state for legal advice. You can find a criminal attorney through the Bar Association’s lawyer referral service on our Finding a Lawyer page.